I've been a vegetarian for 34 years. I became disillusioned with the methods of the meat industry in the early eighties, and little has apparently changed since then.
Meat consumers are, by and large, insulated from what goes on in modern farming, on the way to and in slaughter houses: though there are copious videos and reports available for those who'd like to learn more. As it is, for many people the happy cow becomes a shiny plastic-wrapped supermarket steak as if by magic.
If animals were treated with respect during their lives, quickly and humanely slaughtered on farms, and not distressed by farming, transportation, corralling, and - often botched - execution, I might change my mind. Sure, the end-price might well be considerably more, but when you consider the ability of supermarkets to be able to sell you a chicken for the price of a couple of pints and still make a tidy profit, you have to wonder what shortcuts have been taken during that bird's sixteen-week life, and whether you, the meat-eating consumer who underpins the whole process, believes that to be morally right.
Andy